Billiard-table



W. H. WIGGINS. BIL LLLLLLLLLL I 110,511,571. Patented Dec. 26, 1893.

VIO

NITED STATES PATENT OFFI E.

IVILLIAM H. IVIGGINS, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

BILLlARD-TABLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No; 511,571, dated December 26, 1893.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. WIGGINS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, iu'the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented an Improvement inBilhard-Tables, of which the following is a specification.

In the construction of billiard tables it has heretofore been usual to make use of a slab of marble or slate, to the edge of which is connected, by horizontal screws, the border or frame of the table, and within this frame and resting upon the cloth of the bed is the cushion rail with a rubber cushion at its inner projecting edge.

In playing the game of billiards the balls are projected against the rubber of the cushion and this is supported by the cushion rail and by the frame of the table and ultimately by the bolts that connect such frame to the slab, and in consequence of the numerous parts and the distance intervening between the rubber cushion and the supporting bolts, the cushion rail and the frame of the table are liable to spring and the cushion railis not supported with the desired rigidness. Efforts have been made to connect the cushion rail directly to the slab by a metal clip, but this involves considerable expense and it is difficult to apply- In my present invention the cushion rail is connected direotly'upon and clamped to the upper surface of the bed by bolts passing through the bed and into nuts within the cushion rail, and the table frame receives its support from the cushion rail, thus rendering the parts more firm and reliable than in the constructions heretofore made use of, and the conuecting screws are so constructed as to be easy of access whenever it is desired to detach the cushion rail or the ornamental frame around the table.

In the drawings, Figure l is a vertical section at one edge of a billiard table, and Fig.

2 is a detached elevation of the screw made use of by me. e

The billiard table is made with any desired character of legs or supports and upon these the frame F is permanently connected, and the slate bed B rests upon this frame F, and the covering to the slate bed B of cloth or Application filed December 16 1892. Serial No.455,384. (No model.)

similar material is to be applied in any usual manner. v

The cushion rail L and the rubbercushion R are to be of any usual character, and the table frame or ornamental border to the table represented at O is usually provided with a toprail A, and these parts are to be connected together and to the cushion railL in any suitable manner, and the cloth strip H is introduced into a groove in the cushion rail be tween the same and the top rail A, and the cloth is confined by such strip H at one edge and it is passed around the cushion rail and cushionand connected to the under surface of the cushion rail in any suitable manner, usually by tacks.

WVithin the cushion rail L is a nut D introduced into a mortise and adapted to receive the screw G which is passed up from below through a hole in the slate bed B, there being also a hole or opening in the Wooden slate frame F at the place where such bolt G is applied, so that the heads of the bolts can easily pass into or through these holes in the wooden slate frame F.

In constructing the bolts G it is preferable to screw thread the shank or body of the bolt a sufficie'nt distance to screw upon the same the nut 2 which is arrested at the end of the screw thread and forms a second head to the bolt G, the head 3 at the end of the bolt being adapted to receive a wrench or key by which the bolt is rotated, and there should be a washer 4 introduced between the secondary head 2 and the under side of the slate bed B, and the screw passes through the nut D and by such screw the cushion rail L is clamped firmly upon and directly to the upper surface of the slate bed B. Hence the cushion rail L is held in the most firm and unyielding manner to the slate bed itself and there is no risk of the parts yielding to the impact of the billiard ball or becoming loose by shrinkage of the wood or by contraction or expansion under changes of temperature. Hence the table is not liable to vary in the action of the cushion upon the ball, and the movement of the ball will be uniform under the same conditions of propulsion.

It is to be understood that the frame O and top rail A aid in stiffening the cushion between one clamping screw and the next and that they also form the ornamental border to the table. The important benefit, however, that is obtained by my present invention is the rigid and direct connection of the cushion rail to the top surface of the slate bed.

The clamping screw bolts G are to be applied at suitable distances apart to all of the cushion rails at the respective sides of the table.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination with the slate bed, the frame and the cushion rail in a billiard table, of bolts passingverticallyand direotlythrongh the slate bed, and nuts within the cushion rail by which such cushion rail is clamped directly to the slate bed, and the table border connected to the cushion rail and extending down and covering the slate bed and its frame substantially as set forth.

2. The combination in a billiard table, of a cushion rail anda rubber cushion upon the edge thereof, an ornamental border or frame and top rail surrounding the table and directly connected with the cushion rail, bolts passing vertically through holes in the slate bed and nuts within the cushion railby which such cushion rail is directly and rigidly clamped to the surface of the slate bed, substantially as set forth.

Signed by me this 12th day of December, 1892.

WILLIAM H. VVIGGINS.

IVitnesses: l GEO. T. PINCKNEY, A. M. OLIVER. 

